Written by the Done Fast Demolition team. COR certified, WCB Covered and offering Commercial and Residential Demolition Services in Calgary since 2015.
The lease is over. The store is shutting down. A new construction means the old structure needs to go. Commercial demolition is something most business owners only have to think about a couple of times in their career and it can be a real pain to navigate for the first time.
We are going to demystify the process for you from the first call to the final site walkthrough.
The First Step Is a Site Assessment
Before we give you a quote, we go on site to do a detailed walk through. For a commercial building this usually entails more than just checking the building.
We look at the building type and age, as well as records of any work done to the building. For commercial demolition in Calgary, we also check for complicated factors such as adjoining walls with neighboring businesses, underground utilities, and downtown lots with limited access for equipment.
This step is sometimes underestimated, but for a commercial site it is very important. Three buildings that may look the same size on paper – a warehouse, an office building, and a standalone retail building – will have very different considerations for each.
Permits Take Longer Than You Think
Commercial demolition permitting is more complex than residential in Calgary.
The city will require testing for hazardous materials like asbestos, mold, and lead for all buildings constructed prior to 1990. Testing for hazardous materials is just one example of the many components of the work a contractor will coordinate, including completion of the permit application, scheduling city inspections, and coordinating the contractor’s schedule to proceed with the demolition upon receipt of hazardous materials test results.
Hazardous materials testing is a common reason commercial projects are halted during work, and even more commonly, projects are delayed.
Working Around a Business, Not Just a Building
Unlike most residential demolition projects, a commercial site requires the additional consideration of neighboring businesses and the surrounding community.
A project may need to be done after traditional operating hours or outside a business’s normal operating hours to reduce the impact and disruption to the business.
A seasoned contractor will ask these types of questions prior to the day of the project to avoid the impact to the project of disruption to neighboring businesses.
Interior Strip-Out vs. Full Teardown
Not all demolition is full teardown. Interior demolition of retail and office structures is common.
A retail space interior strip-out includes demolition of all fixtures and finishes, and in the case of an office, stripped to the bare walls and floors in preparation for the next tenant or the next phase of the renovation.
A project of this scope will utilize a different team and equipment than a full structure demolition and also be more time efficient.
Knowing the category your project falls into early on will help with timing and the quotation.
What You Should Know About the Cleanup Phase
Commercial demolition produces a lot more waste than people anticipate, including concrete, steel, wall, and ceiling tiles, and sometimes old, broken machines.
A responsible contractor will sort and recycle as much of that waste as possible rather than sending all the waste to the landfill.
An 80% minimum material diversion isn’t just about the environment. It helps to control costs, as the landfill’s tipping fees become a major ongoing business expense in Calgary, with a steep waste disposal cost for large commercial volumes.
What Is the Average Timeframe?
This varies, of course, depending on the project, but this helps to give an idea on the average time you should be expecting.
An interior strip-out of a single retail space allowable for demolition may take just a few days.
A complete teardown of a stand-alone commercial structure is a longer project, often taking one to many weeks, depending on the size of the structure, the conditions discovered, and level of coordination necessary.
A demolition contractor quoting a specific time for a commercial project is guessing, because of the level of risk and the unpredictability of the project, and that should be a red flag to you.
Why Experience Is Key
Compared to most residential demolition, commercial demolition is therefore more challenging due to the nature of larger structures, more adjacent businesses, and more people, combined with increased regulation and costs if the demolition is completed incorrectly.
This is an area where Contractors Resource Management (COR) certification and a strong safety record actually make the difference. It’s not about getting jobsite certification; a safety record should be independently audited.
Since 2015, we have provided commercial demolition and interior strip outs, along with residential demolition, throughout Calgary.
During these tenure years, we have completed over 500 jobs with zero lost time incidents. We are COR certified; fully insured with $5M in liability coverage, and WCB covered.
We manage the permitting and hazmat testing, so business owners don’t have to deal with the unknown of a new process that they likely have never encountered.
This is the same level of dedication that we provide to each Calgary commercial demolition project, regardless of size.
Ready to Plan Your Commercial Demolition?
If you are in the planning stages of a project and want to know the actual details to what you will be facing, this initial consultation is free.
Call (587) 952-8952 today to schedule your free, no obligation quote.
We will respond to your request in less than 24 hours.
